Man connects himself to TV Flyback transformer to generate arcs from his fingertips!?

[Analog]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MJ0F9x92fE

Kids, don't do this at home!

 

[Andy1845c]

Wow. Not exactly to bright, is he?

 

[Marks256]

Genious! I agree, don't try this at home...

 

[i_build_stuff]

He's probably got a metal wire or something concealed under his finger. At one point, he seemed to jerk as if he got zapped for real.

 

[Gaston]

wouldn't the same amount of heat on one end of the arc be the same on the other? another words wouldn'r it burn his finger

 

[Analog]

Wow. Not exactly to bright, is he?

actually, he is kinda bright, in a 'jacobs ladder' type of way

 

[Gaston]

what is the frequncy of a flyback?

 

[Marks256]

I think it is like 50 or 60 hertz... don't quote me on that, though... Aren't some around 70-80?

 

[Andy1845c]

Wikipedia says more like 15khz. I'm not sure though. I'm sure someone here knows...... Nigel?

 

[Sceadwian]

The frequency of a TV flyback is 15,750hz PC monitors have a significantly higher frequency because the lines/refresh rate are higher.

 

[Sceadwian]

I don't see how a person could conduct that much electricity from one hand to another without harm, not across the chest cavity. There has to be something getting the voltage to the arm that's setting things on fire a little more directly.

 

[HarveyH42]

You can do that with a Tesla coil, never tried it myself (intentionally). High voltage at a high frequency travel the surface of a conductor, not through it. It gives a real creapy feeling, but not painful. Guessing this is what he is doing.

 

[Oznog]

Back years ago i made a Solid State Tesla Coil from some simple plans with a TV flyback run at a resonant frequency. Just add some extra windings on the core, a couple of 2n3055's, a few other little components.

Doesn't work very well with new TV flybacks because they cast the HV diode into the flyback and there's no way to get it out. The diode is a problem. The old- OLD- big black-and-white TVs had big flybacks and the diode was in the anode lead.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Looks pretty normal what he's doing - he's NOT keeping hold of the EHT cap, he's merely insulating himself from the floor - then charging himself up from the EHT. As such it HAS to be DC, as AC wouldn't work.

We did the same thing at school in the 60's, using a van de graff generator, and standing on a stool as an insulator - the voltage was MUCH higher of course. The voltage is so high that the students hair stands on end, and unfortunately the teacher was talking and waving his arms about and got too close - and there was a 12 inch spark from the students nose to the teachers fingers

 

[Analog]

Looks pretty normal what he's doing - he's NOT keeping hold of the EHT cap, he's merely insulating himself from the floor - then charging himself up from the EHT. As such it HAS to be DC, as AC wouldn't work.

We did the same thing at school in the 60's, using a van de graff generator, and standing on a stool as an insulator - the voltage was MUCH higher of course. The voltage is so high that the students hair stands on end, and unfortunately the teacher was talking and waving his arms about and got too close - and there was a 12 inch spark from the students nose to the teachers fingers

Are you sure its DC?

When I played with a Vandegraff generator, we got over 50KV at DC, but the discharge was very short (perhaps microseconds?), and it took 15-20 seconds to build up another charge.

If you watch the video, he's continuously discharging a spark, so I seriously doubt that its DC, otherwise he would be dead. The current must be conducting through his skin (i.e. the skin effect). Continuous DC would interfere with his heart (unless he's a Vulcan!)

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Are you sure its DC?

When I played with a Vandegraff generator, we got over 50KV at DC, but the discharge was very short (perhaps microseconds?), and it took 15-20 seconds to build up another charge.

Depends how far you discharge it, 50KV isn't a lot for a van de graff either, but they do depend on dry conditions as it's a static electricity generator are store.

If you watch the video, he's continuously discharging a spark, so I seriously doubt that its DC, otherwise he would be dead. The current must be conducting through his skin (i.e. the skin effect). Continuous DC would interfere with his heart (unless he's a Vulcan!)

You seem to be assuming he's permanently connected to the anode cap?, the video doesn't suggest that at all. The maximum current off an anode cap is also too small to be fatal, only 1mA max.

This also all assumes it's not just faked?, as with many fakes this video doesn't actually show you enough details to prove it's real, or to show it's a fake - the crucial parts are not shown.

 

[Marks256]

Maximum exposure is shown here on tv... It was entertaining for the first day or two, but then it got old. Some of the stuff they put on there is obviously fake...

 

[Gaston]

it struck me as odd that at the begining he acted like he was going to cut the wire but never did

 

[Sceadwian]

If the current off what he was touching is only 1ma then it might be a valid video, though I bet he was getting heart palpatations =)

 

[Tvtech30]

Well he really isn't dropping any voltage [around 28kv] across his body, Due to the fact he is steering clear of any ground path back to the tv ground or any other ground source.